Welded rail-joint



-C. F', GAILOR. wELnEn RMUOINT. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 2. |9l- RENEWED APR. 3. |920.

WITNESSES UNITED STATES PAIENT oel-ics CHESTER F. GAILOR, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TQ. Tm WELDING CORPORATION, 0F NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION Oi" Y WELDED RAIL-JOINT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented` Dee. 7, 1920.

Application filed March 2, 1917, Serial No. 151,948. Renewed April 3, 1920. Serial No. 870,960i.

To all whom it may concern.:

Be it known that I, CHESTER F. (Limon, a citizenr of the United States, residing in Brooklyn Kings county, city and State of New Yor have invented certain new und useful Improvements in Welded Ruil-Joints, of which the following is u specilicution.

My invention relates to welded rail joints for railway track systems, particularly to such systems when used in electric railway service. Such joints must not only be of high electrical conductivity but must also be durable and ermanently capable of withstanding the s locks and strains of traffic.

My invention can be applied to the rails of any usual track system but will be found especlally valuable for forming joints between ralls of the girder type.

My invention includes, and I claim accordingly not only an improved method of inaking a welded rail joint but also the joint itself.

My invention will be better understood by referring to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 represents a perspective View of a pair of abutted rail ends connected together by my improved joint; Fig. 2 represents a section taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. l; Fig. 3 represents the section of Fig. 2 as it would u )pear immediately after the welding of the fisli plates to the rails; Fig. 4 is a view, similar to Fig. 1, showing (very reatly exa gerated how the rail head and Ease are de ormed i the rail ends are `joined by the usual rail joint upon which my invention is an improvement; and Fig. 5 1s a section, similar to Fig. 2, taken along the line 5 5 of Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawings, Figs. 1 and 2, showing the finished improved joint. of my invention, the reference characters 1, 2 represent the ends of alined and tightly abutting rails and 3, 4 represent fish plates bridging the two rail ends, on opposlte sides thereof, and each welded at top and bottom to the head and base of both rails as shown at 5 5 and 6, 6 respectively. The fish plates referably have their to and bottom edges eveled or faced off to t the under side of the rail head and the upper side of the rail base land have a widthA such that when in position they are spaced u substantial distance away from the web 7 of the rail. This llevcling or facing oli' is not essential, however, as metal can readily be filled in during the welding operation. Considering the cross sect ion of the finished 'oint it may be likened to that of a box hav ng sides 3 and -l and a central partition, the mil web 7, serving as a brace.

lleretofore it has been usual, in joints of this general character, to employ flat fish plates, placing them in position on each side of the ruil ends and holding them in such position by means of bolts Y8 passin r through both plates and the web of the rai The fish pl-.ites'would then be welded along their top and bottom edges to both rail ends while the bolts 8 would have their heads 9, at one end, welded to the fish late and the nuts 1U, at the other end, We ded both to the fish plates and to the shank of the bolt. Owing to this mode of procedure, the fish plates by reason of the intense heat 0f welding would expand and, pressing against the more or less inclined surfaces of the rail head and base, slip outwardly away from the web before the o erator could sucoecd in making the weld. he welding bein then completed and the joint allowed to coo the equally great contraction would tend to draw the head and the baiseof `the rails togather as indicated on a .very greatly exaggerated scale, in 5 where the dotted lines represent tlie1-""`ormal pdsition of the rail head and bse before coiitraction of the fish plates has taken place. The result of this excessive contraction would be a, corresponding condition of strain in the two rail ends said strains being a. maximum in the regions 11, 11', at the ends of each fish plate and at 12, 12' (shown dotted) in the base and head of the rail res ectively near the juncture of said base and ead with the rail web. In the course of time and owing to temperature changes or to the shock of traffic or both, the rail ends have finally yielded to these stralns and, fracture has in many cases taken lace. As a rule such fractures have been ound to take place in the region 11 in the base of the rail ust outside the end of each fish plate. s these regions are those having the least strength of all the regions subjected to strain, fracture at these oints rather than at others is naturally to e expected. However, under VYsome circumstances, fracture in some of the other indicated regions might also take place.

In practice it is very improbable that the deformation shown in `igs. 4 and 5 would be visible to the naked eye.y The position of the arts asshown, however, corresponds in kind) to tfe actual conditions in practice although not in degree and indicates the dangerous strain lines which exist in the usual known type of joint.

In my improved rail joint and mode of making the same I secure all the advantages of the box girder type of welded joint just described without any of the enumerated disadvantages. rl`here are no strained regions in the finished joint and none can develop. There is therefore no tendency to fracture such as has just been described as `characteristic of the rail joints heretofore used.

In making my improved joint I use fish plates 3, 4 (FigfB) which have been given a slight outward curvature. These fish plates are positionedg'between head and base of the rail on opposite sides, as usual and the bolts ,8 are drawr up sufficiently to hold them in place. They are then welded, as be fore, along top and ottom edges 5, 6 and 5", 6', to the rail heads and bases respectively. Any expansion in the plates which may take place during the welding operation results either in an increased outward bending of the fish plates or in a slight slip between the fish late edges and the rail surfaces against w ich they abut or both. The welding being completed, the nuts 10 are then drawn up upon the bolts 8 so as to draw the central re 'ons of the fish plates toward one another t us straightening the plates. If the initial curvature of the fish plates has been correctly chosen the widening of the lates and consequent forcing apart of rail liead and rail base actually taking place or tending to take place and due to the drawing to ether of the plates'by the nuts 10 and bo ts 8 will just be equal to the narrowing of the fish plates, and consequent reverse movement or tendency to move of the rail head and rail base, caused by contraction due to cooling. 'The result will be that when the joint is completed the rail heads and rail bases will be at exactl the same distance apart as the were be ore the jbint g operation was be n andall parts of t rail heads and rail, ases will be free from strain and will remain so.

Various modifications of detail in both the 4 permanently lessening the curvature o joint of my invention and the method of making the same will readily occur to those skilled in the art within the terms and spirit of the following claims. '.lhus, While l prefer that the entire length of the top and bottom edges of the fish plates be welded fast to the rails2 this is not essential and portion or portions of said edges may be free from welding. So, also, the plates themselves ma have shapes other than simple rectan es'. Similarly, the essential thing is that t e central portions of the fish plates be curved out of the plane which includes the top and bottom edges of the plates and while I prefer the curvature away from the iail web as shown in the drawings, an opposite curvature would serve iequally well provided appropriate arrangements for straightening the plates after welding be provided.

Also, instead of bolts 8 and nuts l0 I may use any bt er usual means for lessening the curvature of the fish plates and for maintaining them permanently in such condition of lessened curvature. A

Having described my invention, I claim :v

1. That improvement in the art of makthe'rails before welding and in then lessen--v ing said curvature after Welding.

f2. That improvement in the art of Inaking Welded rail joints having abutted alined rall ends and a fish plate welded along its top and bottom ed es to the head and they' base of each rail, w ich consists in curving plate longitudinally outwardly away from the rails before welding and in then forcing said curved portions. after welding, inwardly toward the rails.

3. That improvement in lthe art of making welded rail joints having abutted alined rail ends and a fish plate welded alon its top and bottom ed es to the head anc the base of each rail, wich consists in curving the fish plate longitudinally outwardly awa from the rails before welding. then forcin said curved portions, after welding, inwar ly toward the rails and maintaining said ortions in said inward positions.

4. he method of making Welded rail joints which comprises abutting and alinin' two rail ends, welding longitudinally curve( fish plates along t ir top ani bottom edges to the head and base of botii rail ends on opposite sides thereof, and then forciblv and f sa@ plates. l f al 5. The method of making welded rail joints which com rises abutting and alinin" two rail ends, wel) tudinally. curved fish plates along their top ding outwardly and longiand bottom edges to the head and base of both rail ends on opposite sides thereof, then drawn and holding said curved portions of the sh plates together by bolts. l

G. A welded rail joint comprising a pair of abutted alined rail ends, fish plates Welded along their top and bottom edges to the head and base of each rail on opposite sides of said rails, and bolts passi/n throughn both of said fish plates said plates ein in my hand.

CHESTER F. GAILOR. 

